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  #61  
Old 08-03-2011, 06:13 AM
Dwight Dwight is offline
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Originally Posted by Tone Gopher View Post
Because he can only enjoy a guitar by having other people look at them???

Does that seem creepy to anyone else?
Only the very suggestive V shots.

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  #62  
Old 08-03-2011, 07:45 AM
FromDreams FromDreams is offline
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Let me get this straight.......... Jim Olson is the ONLY builder in the entire world that builds a proper dovetail neck???????????? I love Jim and his guitars and actually have an adi/hog SJ in the same batch, but that's a mighty bold statement..... especially considering some of the company we are in here on this forum. And Kevin Ryan is some sort of all knowing/all seeing guitar prophet or something.... like Kevin has personally inspected enough dovetail neck joints of the top 50 builders to actually make this claim??? I'm honestly not trying to be argumentative, but I'm not drinking the kool-aid on this one. There are a lot of great builders in the same league as Jim that make fantastic instruments and I have a hard time believing none of them know how to make a proper dovetail neck joint.
------------------------------

"even according to Kevin Ryan, James Olson is the only one who builds a dovetail neck the right way... it's hammer tight.. with no space between the dovetail and the neck block". I didn't say that he was the only one, just saying that is what Kevin Ryan stated verbatim... "Jim Olson is the only one I know that builds the dovetail joint the right way... he sets the dovetail in tight and then cuts the top of the neck to make the perfect neck angle before applying the fingerboard"

I have no doubt that there are others that do a nice job with a dovetail neck joint, but just passing the information along. I am not aware of anyone who sets the neck in the dovetail first and then cuts the top of the neck to make for that proper neck joint, but perhaps there are some. Most people I understand shim out the dovetail to get the neck angle right.
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  #63  
Old 08-03-2011, 07:54 AM
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ljguitar ljguitar is offline
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Originally Posted by MikeD View Post
Let me get this straight.......... Jim Olson is the ONLY builder in the entire world that builds a proper dovetail neck???????????? I love Jim and his guitars and actually have an adi/hog SJ in the same batch, but that's a mighty bold statement..... especially considering some of the company we are in here on this forum. And Kevin Ryan is some sort of all knowing/all seeing guitar prophet or something.... like Kevin has personally inspected enough dovetail neck joints of the top 50 builders to actually make this claim??? I'm honestly not trying to be argumentative, but I'm not drinking the kool-aid on this one. There are a lot of great builders in the same league as Jim that make fantastic instruments and I have a hard time believing none of them know how to make a proper dovetail neck joint.
Hi Mike…

Well I'm not sure about Kevin's claim (and yes, Kevin Ryan is some kind of guitar building guru actually…), but the neck joint on my Olson was done right and after 18 yrs is rock solid according to the luthier who sets up my guitars.

I'm not a 'dove-tail-only' guy and have two guitars with dovetails-done-right and two with fabulous-bolt-ons, and if you didn't know which was which by builders you couldn't tell the difference without an xray.

I'd prefer to say James Olsons work has been pretty immaculate since the 80s, and he sets standards in guitar building which many aspire to, and a few do match (Kevin Ryan being one of those who has reached that level).


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  #64  
Old 08-03-2011, 07:58 AM
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MikeD MikeD is offline
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Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
Well, Kevin Ryan is a great admirer of Jim Olson and of Jim's guitars. The way I would interpret that remark is as an enthusiastic comment from Kevin about the astonishing precision of Jim's dovetails rather than as an all-encompassing authoritative statement that is completely, factually, verifiably 100% correct.

If others want to interpret that remark as meaning that nobody else building guitars with dovetail neck joints is doing them correctly or as well, and honestly believe that, that's their choice. But it's a rather foolish choice.


Wade Hampton Miller
Wade, I don't believe that remark for a nano-second, hence my questioning of said remark. I, too, admire Jim and his work. When my SJ is delivered later this year, it will be the second Olson I have owned over the years... so I am also an avid supporter of Jim and his guitars. It's not the fact that Kevin said (or did not say) anything about Jim's work, or if it was even relayed word for word here on this forum... he's entitled to his own opinion as a fellow builder. It's more the way the poster basically looked down his nose at every other builder out there by saying Jim is the ONLY person that can do this, and by saying this he implies that no one else really knows what they are doing when it comes to joining a neck to the body of a guitar. To me that is foolish, arrogant, ignorant and ridiculous... and even though I am not a builder, I took exception to that statement, so I can only imagine how some of the builders that frequent and sponsor this forum would feel about a statement like that. That's it... nothing more, nothing less. Just calling them as I see them sometimes.
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  #65  
Old 08-03-2011, 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by ljguitar View Post
Hi Mike…

Well I'm not sure about Kevin's claim (and yes, Kevin Ryan is some kind of guitar building guru actually…), but the neck joint on my Olson was done right and after 18 yrs is rock solid according to the luthier who sets up my guitars.

I'm not a 'dove-tail-only' guy and have two guitars with dovetails-done-right and two with fabulous-bolt-ons, and if you didn't know which was which by builders you couldn't tell the difference without an xray.

I'd prefer to say James Olsons work has been pretty immaculate since the 80s, and he sets standards in guitar building which many aspire to, and a few do match (Kevin Ryan being one of those who has reached that level).


Thanks Larry, I'm well aware of who Kevin Ryan is.. I've owned two of his guitars over the years as well. Nice guitars, just not my style of instrument. My first Olson was built in 1993... great guitar, but I grew away from cedar. I have seen some of his guitars over the years and I think he's actually gotten better since then. I, too, am not a "dove tail only guy" either and I'm not slighting Jim's work in the least. It's all good Larry.
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  #66  
Old 08-03-2011, 08:14 AM
ericcsong ericcsong is offline
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Originally Posted by MikeD View Post
Wade, I don't believe that remark for a nano-second, hence my questioning of said remark. I, too, admire Jim and his work. When my SJ is delivered later this year, it will be the second Olson I have owned over the years... so I am also an avid supporter of Jim and his guitars. It's not the fact that Kevin said (or did not say) anything about Jim's work, or if it was even relayed word for word here on this forum... he's entitled to his own opinion as a fellow builder. It's more the way the poster basically looked down his nose at every other builder out there by saying Jim is the ONLY person that can do this, and by saying this he implies that no one else really knows what they are doing when it comes to joining a neck to the body of a guitar. To me that is foolish, arrogant, ignorant and ridiculous... and even though I am not a builder, I took exception to that statement, so I can only imagine how some of the builders that frequent and sponsor this forum would feel about a statement like that. That's it... nothing more, nothing less. Just calling them as I see them sometimes.
Mike, I hear you. well articulated sir
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  #67  
Old 08-03-2011, 09:37 AM
asg420 asg420 is offline
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Originally Posted by FromDreams View Post

I understand that Mr. Olson is not currently taking orders or deposits.... these may be the last custom batch of Olsons you see.
Did anyone else's mouth drop when they read this?

Maybe he's just playing it smart and waiting until this batch is nearly complete before getting inundated with "new" builds.
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  #68  
Old 08-03-2011, 09:54 AM
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Did anyone else's mouth drop when they read this?

Maybe he's just playing it smart and waiting until this batch is nearly complete before getting inundated with "new" builds.
Mine did. I've been saving to order one for years. Don't know if I'll get the chance now.
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  #69  
Old 08-03-2011, 03:26 PM
dirt1966 dirt1966 is offline
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There are dovetail joints, there are mortise/tenon joints, even no joints apparently... It's all good. Kevin Ryan's guitars are beautiful no doubt and these are just as beautiful. We should all be appreciative that there are all these great builders who create playable art.

I think that should be the focus not about this guy and that guy, and all the related drama. Peace!
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  #70  
Old 08-04-2011, 12:09 AM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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First, Mike wrote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeD View Post
Wade, I don't believe that remark for a nano-second, hence my questioning of said remark.

... even though I am not a builder, I took exception to that statement, so I can only imagine how some of the builders that frequent and sponsor this forum would feel about a statement like that. That's it... nothing more, nothing less. Just calling them as I see them sometimes.
Message understood and agreed with, Mike, no argument here. I was merely attempting to place Kevin's remark in what I saw as the likely context.

Then Dirt (and his rowdy brothers Dust and Mud) wrote:

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Originally Posted by dirt1966 View Post
There are dovetail joints, there are mortise/tenon joints, even no joints apparently... It's all good. Kevin Ryan's guitars are beautiful no doubt and these are just as beautiful. We should all be appreciative that there are all these great builders who create playable art.
Absolutely.

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Originally Posted by dirt1966 View Post
I think that should be the focus not about this guy and that guy, and all the related drama. Peace!
Again, my sentiments precisely.


Wade Hampton Miller
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  #71  
Old 08-04-2011, 05:05 AM
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Originally Posted by FromDreams View Post
I I am not aware of anyone who sets the neck in the dovetail first and then cuts the top of the neck to make for that proper neck joint, but perhaps there are some. Most people I understand shim out the dovetail to get the neck angle right.


There are several.

Last edited by sharp_custom; 08-04-2011 at 06:20 AM.
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  #72  
Old 08-04-2011, 05:17 AM
Bords Bords is offline
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I know a few guys who manage a proper dovetail, Olson must have taught them.
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  #73  
Old 08-04-2011, 05:27 AM
dirt1966 dirt1966 is offline
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Originally Posted by Bords View Post
I know a few guys who manage a proper dovetail, Olson must have taught them.
Get past it already.... he obviously knows how to build guitars as do lots of builders..no reason to disrespect Kevin Ryan, Olson, or anyone else... we all want the same thing... furtherance of the acoustic gutiar world...and like it or not, those two builders are two of the pillars of handbuilt guitars... focus on the positive and be cool. Peace!
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  #74  
Old 08-11-2011, 12:08 PM
FromDreams FromDreams is offline
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Interesting follow up on the discussion about the use of a rosewood neck:

"The only parameter he wanted was the cedar top," says Olson. "James left the ornamentation and inlay up to me." Olson decided to use East Indian rosewood for the guitar's back and sides, and although the instrument is graced with an abalone rosette and purfling, it features simple fingerboard inlays and an understated look. The only thing different from Olson's standard SJ design is that the guitar's neck is laminated using rosewood instead of mahogany. "I don't really know why I did it," says Olson.

Also a very interesting glimpse into James Taylor's guitar vault... he owns an Olson Parlor in addition to the four Olsons he regularly plays on the road.
There really is something special about these guitars.
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  #75  
Old 08-11-2011, 01:05 PM
dirt1966 dirt1966 is offline
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Originally Posted by FromDreams View Post
Interesting follow up on the discussion about the use of a rosewood neck:

"The only parameter he wanted was the cedar top," says Olson. "James left the ornamentation and inlay up to me." Olson decided to use East Indian rosewood for the guitar's back and sides, and although the instrument is graced with an abalone rosette and purfling, it features simple fingerboard inlays and an understated look. The only thing different from Olson's standard SJ design is that the guitar's neck is laminated using rosewood instead of mahogany. "I don't really know why I did it," says Olson.

Also a very interesting glimpse into James Taylor's guitar vault... he owns an Olson Parlor in addition to the four Olsons he regularly plays on the road.
There really is something special about these guitars.
I actually saw that on Carnegie Hall: ‎http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNnuUZ_lSg4 Just a few hours in there would be stellar
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